THE AGE of REASON and ENLIGHTENMENT

1. THEAGE of REASON and ENLIGHTENMENT

2. WarmUp List and explain (3) Natural Rights that you and your partner believe you inherit when you are born: • 1. • 2. • 3.

3. The Age of Reason and Enlightenment The Age of Reason and Enlightenment contributed to a paradigm shift in political thought. Philosophers (Philosophes in France) of this time period questioned the “state” and “monarchy” with the new found power of reason. Their ideals included equality, tolerance and governance based on the consent of the people. Enlightenment ideals laid the intellectual foundation for political revolutions such as, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Glorious Revolution and revolutions in Latin America.

4. ENLIGHTENMENT The Enlightenment is based upon the view that modern science and our understanding of the social world derived from modern science can help us to improve the living conditions of people. As a result it spawned an era of free-thinking individualism. New philosophies dealt with government, religion, & relationships between people. People began to look for laws to govern human behavior and most believed that the government’s power should come from the consent of the governed.

5. Science and Enlightenment Scientific Revolution promoted application of reason and the scientific method to all aspects of society including government. #1 What role, if any, does Science play in government today?

6. Philosophes The philosophes (French for philosophers) were the intellectuals of the 18th century Enlightenment. Few though were primarily philosophers; rather, philosophes were public intellectuals who applied reason to the study of many areas of learning, including philosophy, history, science, politics, economics and social issues. They had a critical eye and looked for weaknesses and failures that needed improvement. Philosophes opposed divine right to rule, absolute monarchies & the privileges of nobility & clergy. They had NO traditional religious values (against organized religious institutions) – most were atheist or deist.

7. Enlightenment Beliefs • War, poverty, and injustice are not God-given punishments for our sinfulness but bad management. • Oppressive governments can be reformed or overthrown. • Social inequality can be alleviated and, maybe, overcome. • Disease is not to be accepted stoically but to be fought with new medicines. • Poverty can be reduced through the productivity of new inventions and technologies. • Ignorance can be overcome through universal public education. • Human societies are perfectible if only we have the will and use our scientific knowledge to plan and socially engineer for a better future. • There is no limit to what human reason and ingenuity can achieve.

8. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES OF ENLIGHTENED THINKERS The Enlightenment thinkers that considered new ways of government are also some of the first political scientists looking for natural law in human society. Many of the thinkers of the Enlightenment worked to change the way governments operated. This influenced some aristocratic rulers to govern as absolute monarchs and others as “enlightened” monarchs. On the other hand, Enlightenment ideas fueled revolutionaries and led to the overthrow of many European monarchies. # 2 Do you think the Enlightenment ideas might have an impact on the way Absolute Monarchs governed?

9. JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704) An English philosopher and physician, he believed that people have the natural ability to govern their own affairs and look after the welfare of society; endowed with the natural rights of life, liberty and property; people can overthrow a government that does not protect these rights. Governments have contact with the people; governments must protect their citizen’s life, liberty and property, and should they fail to do so, they can and should be replaced #3 According to Locke, can we as United States citizens overthrow our government if we feel it is not protecting our rights?

10. THOMAS HOBBES (1588-1679) An English philosopher, he believed that men should put their faith (create a contract) in a government to provide stability for their lives, since people have lives that are “cruel, nasty, brutish and short.” Developed – social contract theory – people create government and give up some of their rights to a strong ruler in exchange for law and order – i.e. absolute monarchy. Wrote the “Leviathan” – (1651) states the people shouldestablish trust or a “Contract” with the government to keep peace and create stability. #4 Do we have this kind of trust in our government today? Why or why not?

11. What exactly is a Leviathan? It is referred to as: a monster/giant/destructive animal etc. who brings on force or destructive behavior. To make peace with the giant is to create stability.

12. The frontispiece of the book “Leviathan” has two main elements, of which the upper part is by far the most striking. In it, a giant crowned figure is seen emerging from the landscape, clutching a sword and a crosier, The lower portion is a triptych, framed in a wooden border. The center form contains the title on an ornate curtain. The two sides reflect the sword and crosier of the main figure – earthly power on the left and the powers of the church on the right. Each side element reflects the equivalent power – castle to church, crown to mitre, cannon to excommunication, weapons to logic, and the battlefield to the religious courts. The giant holds the symbols of both sides, reflecting the union of secular and spiritual in the sovereign, but the construction of the torso also makes the figure the state. #5 What type of symbolism do we have in our government’s structure?

13. MONTESQUIEU (France - 1689-1755) French social commentator and political thinker, he believed power should be balanced between three branches of officials (separation of powers) separation of powers – three branches of government and checks and balances on these powers and that people must be guarded from corrupt leaders #6 Why was the creation of separation of powers so important in the United States?

14. ROUSSEAU (1712-1778) From Geneva Switzerland, Rousseau believed the general will, usually defined as the majority, should determine the laws of the nation. Individual freedoms should be protected by these laws. People in civilized society were unhappy & selfish. People should live in harmony with nature. Education carries great importance.

15. ROUSSEAU Wrote “The Social Contract”, 1763 – give the power to the people. The legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone. The Social Contract helped inspire political reforms or revolutions in Europe, especially in France. # 7 Analyze the following quote by Rousseau and discuss with your partner. “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”

16. John Calvin (1509 – 1564) • French theologian and pastor, he believed government and religion should be interrelated; divinity and worship should be applied to uphold the laws of man. (Calvinism) • #8 Why would U.S. citizens struggle with Calvin’s idea of politics and religion? #9 In the U.S. our government must show neither official approval nor disapproval of religion, or favor one religion over another. With your partner explain what this means.

17. Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826) Jefferson was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809) He and our Founding Fathers believed that people are born with certain God-given rights that cannot be taken away; people have the right to rebel against an unjust ruler. #10 If you had to give up one of your unalienable rights guaranteed by the US Constitution which one would you be willing to sacrifice?

18. Sir William Blackstone (England 1723-1780) Blackstone's legacy and main work of note is his “Commentaries on the laws of England” Designed to provide a complete overview of English law. The work is divided into four volumes, on the rights of persons, the rights of things, of private wrongs and of public wrongs. 1. Rights of Persons (social stratification) 2. Right of Things (property law) 3. Private Wrongs (torts) 4. Public Wrongs (criminal law) This was a guidance to the Framers of the US Constitution. “People have the right to property as “sole and despotic dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world.”

19. KEY PERSONS WHO SUCCESSFULLY SHIFTED POLITICAL THOUGHT • Mary Wollstonecraft – (27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason. #11 When did women finally receive suffrage In the United States? Google: Women’s Right to Vote…Which amendment is it and when was it created? Why did it take so long?

20. KEY PERSONS WHO SUCCESSFULLY SHIFTED POLITICAL THOUGHT • William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) British politician who successfully led the movement to abolish slavery in Great Britain In 1807, the Slave Trade Act of 1807 led to the end of the African slave trade. Shortly before his death in 1833, Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 that ended slavery in most of the British Empire.

21. KEY PERSONS WHO SUCCESSFULLY SHIFTED POLITICAL THOUGHT • Simon Bolivar (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830), was a Venezuelan military and political leader. Bolívar played a key role in Hispanic America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire, and is today considered one of the most influential politicians in the history of the Americas. Bolívar witnessed the coronation of Napoleon in Notre Dame, and this majestic event left a profound impression upon him. From that moment he wished that he could emulate similar triumphant glory for the people of his native land. Bolivia was named after him.

22. HOW THE ENLIGHTENMENT SPREAD Paris Salons • The Enlightenment ideas started in the salons of Paris. The wealthy women of Paris held gatherings in their homes, called salons, where their peers could hear inspiring music, view art and listen to ideas and writings from great thinkers. These salonnieres supported artists, musicians, philosophers and writers and were responsible for making France the intellectual center of Europe. The most popular of all salonnieres was Marie-Therese Geoffrin, a member of the wealthy French middle class.

23. HOW THE ENLIGHTENMENT SPREAD Diderot's Encyclopedia • The ideas of Enlightenment reached a much wider audience when Geoffrin helped to finance the writing of Denis Diderot's Encyclopedia. The encyclopedia gathered all the most current ideas about music, art, writing, philosophy, government and science. It was widely published and made available to the French middle class. The first volumes of the Encyclopedia were published in 1751. Diderot persisted in requesting permission to print his work, even when the French government and church were angered by it. He was successful, and new volumes were published until 1771.

24. HOW THE ENLIGHTENMENT SPREAD Newspapers and Pamphlets • The thinkers responsible for the Enlightenment ideas considered themselves part of an intellectual community. They produced printed materials in such quantity that the new ideas spread quickly from the wealthy to the middle class, who had enough money to support the intellectuals who produced them by buying books and reading magazines. These people often didn't have the clout to make a political difference, but they could put their money to good use. This fast spread of ideas via printed material helped to solidify the Age of Enlightenment and the ideas that formed it. #12 How would an encyclopedias, newspapers and pamphlets help spread the enlightenment ideas?

25. Impact of the Enlightenment • European monarchies make reforms • Inspiration for the American and French Revolutions • Belief in progress through social equality and improvements in education • More secular outlook that questioned religious beliefs and teachings of the church • Importance of the individual: as people turned away from the church, they looked towards themselves for guidance

26. Influence of the Enlightenment on Abstract Concepts on Political Revolutions • Separation of powers – the belief that power should not rest in the hands of one or few, but should be delegated • Checks and balances – measures designed to prevent one branch of government from becoming more powerful than the others • Liberty – freedom, the ability to make choices; not to be oppressed by the government or by any social or economic classes • Equality – the belief that all men (individuals) are equal in regards to their political rights

27. Influence of the Enlightenment on Abstract Concepts on Political Revolutions • Democracy – an ideal of governing where the people make political decisions. This ideal has taken many forms, such as the direct democracy of Greece and the Roman Republic where elected representatives speak and vote on behalf of the people. • Popular sovereignty – the concept that political power rests with the people who can create, alter, or abolish government. People express themselves through voting and free participation. • Human rights – include inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. While each government or culture determines the rights for their society, human rights tend to cross cultural barriers.

28. Influence of the Enlightenment on Abstract Concepts on Political Revolutions • Constitutionalism – the idea that the basic principles and laws of a government should be organized and administered through compliance with a written or unwritten constitution • Nationalism – devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation; the belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals; aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination

29. IMPACT OF ELIGHTENMENT POLITICAL AND LEGAL IDEAS FROM HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS • English Bill of Rights • Limitations on absolute monarch • No suspension of Parliament’s laws • No levying of taxes without Parliament’s • No suspension of freedom of speech in Parliament • Citizens have right to petition king with grievances #13 Explain how enlightenment ideas can cause people to revolt against their country?

30. IMPACT OF ELIGHTENMENT POLITICAL AND LEGAL IDEAS FROM HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS • Declaration of Independence • Unalienable rights – life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness • Governments established to protect these rights • People have the right to change or abolish a government that does not protect their rights

31. IMPACT OF ELIGHTENMENT POLITICAL AND LEGAL IDEAS FROM HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS • U.S. Constitution • Powers divided among three branches of government • Checks and balances between the three branches of government • Federal system of government where power is divided between the state and national governments • Creation of representative government • Limits on the powers of government • Popular election of executive and legislators • Bill of Rights that protects personal freedoms, including those of speech, religion, the press, and of petition

32. IMPACT OF ELIGHTENMENT POLITICAL AND LEGAL IDEAS FROM HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS • Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen • Men are born and remain free and equal in rights that include liberty, property, security, and freedom from oppression • Governments have the goal of preserving these rights • Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, equal justice to all citizens • “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” #14 Which ideas in our constitution and bill of rights can you identify as an enlightenment idea?

33. #15THINK ABOUT IT FIRST AND THEN DISCUSS WITH YOUR PARTNER:HOW CAN PEOPLE SUPPORT OR CHANGE THEIR GOVERNMENT?

34. HOW PEOPLE CAN SUPPORT OR CHANGE THEIR GOVERNMENT • Support: • Voting • Registering others to vote • Paying taxes • Recruitment to the military • Change: • Revolution: United States, France, Glorious Revolution in England, Spanish colonies in Latin America, Russia

35. #16Thinking of World Events such as the Arab Spring (revolutions taking place in Northern Africa and the Middle East), write a paragraph that includes (5) reasons why is it important for people to have a voice in government?